Jill Faulkner Summers (front left)
and husband Paul Summers join actor Morgan Freeman (back left), University
of Mississippi Chancellor Robert Khayat and author John Grisham on the front
steps of Rowan Oak on May 1.

OXFORD, Miss. - William
Faulkners Bible was returned Sunday to his home, Rowan Oak, by his
daughter, Jill Faulkner Summers, more than 40 years after his death.

Attending ceremonies to commemorate a three-year
restoration of the Nobel Prize-winning authors Oxford home, Summers made
the surprise announcement that she was returning both her fathers Bible
and another family Bible.

“I felt this is where the Bibles belong,”
she said. “I took them when I moved, and I wanted to give them back.”

The items on display inside Rowan Oak, including
Faulkners typewriter, represent 80 percent of the items left in the home
following the literary icons death in 1962.

Rowan Oak curator William Griffith said he was
thrilled for Summers gift. “This is the greatest surprise of the
day,” Griffith said. “We will put the Bibles on display and give
Rowan Oak a sense of reverence.”

The dedication marked the completion of a $1.3
million restoration of the house and grounds, owned and maintained by the University
of Mississippi. Hundreds, including friends and family members of Faulkner,
attended the ceremonies. Gov. Haley Barbour, U.S. Rep. Roger Wicker and actor
Morgan Freeman were among those at the dedication on a sunny, picture-perfect
afternoon.

“Rowan Oak is an international treasure,”
said UM Chancellor Robert Khayat. “We are thrilled to reopen this sanctuary,
this quiet place of contemplation.”

Offering the keynote address, author John
Grisham said Faulkner would be proud of the efforts to restore the home:
“If Faulkner were here today, hed stroll the grounds and feel at
home.”

Introduced to Faulkners writings in the
ninth grade, Grisham admitted he was bewildered the first time he read The
Sound and the Fury. He also recalled his first trip to Rowan Oak that spring
with classmates from Horn Lake.

“I was struck by the tranquility and peacefulness
of Rowan Oak,” Grisham said. “This is a true treasure for all to
enjoy.”

Originally known as The Bailey Place, Faulkner
renamed it Rowan Oak for the legend of the Rowan tree, which is recorded in
Sir James Frazer's The Golden Bough. According to the tale, Scottish
peasants placed a cross of Rowan wood over their thresholds to ward off evil
spirts and afford occupants a place of refuge, privacy and peace.

Throughout the restoration, none of the color
schemes, wood moldings or floor plans were altered. The three-phase restoration
was made possible by private gifts and grants from the state of Mississippi;
U.S. Department of Interior, Parks Service; and U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development.

It was here at Rowan Oak that Faulkner accomplished
one of the more remarkable feats of American literature. From Absalom, Absalom!
to As I Lay Dying, Faulkner wrote a series of novels set in his “native
soil” of Yoknapatawpha.

The ceremonies also included John Maxwell, creator
of the acclaimed one-man play Oh, Mr. Faulkner, Do You Write?, reciting
Faulkners 1950 Nobel Prize acceptance speech. Summers, who at age 16 traveled
with her father to Sweden to accept the award, was moved emotionally as she
sat with her eyes closed during the recount.

Following the dedication, Rowan Oak was opened
for tours. It remains open to visitors 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays and
1-4 p.m. Sundays. Guided tours are available by calling 662-234-3284.